Missing man near Sedona was fasting on hiking trip

Dec. 27, 2013
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This undated photo provided by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office shows lost hiker Thomas Lang, 22. Coconino County sheriff's officials say Lang was last seen Dec. 18, 2013, at the Manzanita Campground in Oak Creek Canyon, north of Sedona, Ariz. The search effort for Lang entered its fourth day on Dec. 26, as temperatures have dropped into the 30s. / Yavapai County Sheriff's Office

by Haley Madden and Courtland Jeffery, The Arizona Republic and KPNX-TV Phoenix

by Haley Madden and Courtland Jeffery, The Arizona Republic and KPNX-TV Phoenix

Search coordinator Rex Gilliland, chief deputy of the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, said the official effort was put on hold late Thursday after another daylong search came up empty.

Lang was last seen Dec. 18, when his father dropped him off at Manzanita Campground in the Oak Creek Canyon area with only water and a sleeping bag. Authorities on Thursday said Lang set out on the trip without food because he was "fasting."

"To what extent and why, we don't know," Dwight D'Evelyn, a spokesman for the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, told the Associated Press. "But he did not take food with him. That's been made very clear."

Gilliland said Lang's family members will likely continue the search for the young man who was expected to return from his hiking and camping trip last Sunday.

On Christmas morning, Laurie Breihan, Lang's mother, turned to Eric Brunner, director of operations at Sedona Airport. Brunner said Lang's mother called in hopes of getting more air coverage.

"It's Christmas, and I have four children," Brunner said. "I can never imagine being in her shoes."

Within hours, Brunner took a co-pilot and Lang's mother up in a helicopter to begin searching areas in Secret and Sterling canyons, a series of trails about 5 miles north of Sedona that run through rocky terrain and ponderosa pine.

"We wanted to broaden the areas that have not been searched," he said.

The helicopter flight gave Lang's mother and the private search team a new perspective on an area of Secret Canyon where they believe Lang may be located, Brunner said. He passed the latitude and longitude along to search-and-rescue teams from Yavapai County and the Arizona Department of Public Safety, who said they'd give the area a closer look, Brunner said.

About 60 people were searching for Lang on Thursday by ground, with a dog team and by helicopter. Additional agencies, including the Maricopa County and Coconino County sheriffs' offices, also stepped in, D'Evelyn said.

The area of focus was narrowed down to 30 miles in the area of Oak Creek Canyon, with nearly 5 miles consisting of vertical canyons and thick brush.

The Coconino and Yavapai County sheriffs' offices have received several calls indicating sightings of Lang in convenience stores and supermarkets in areas neighboring counties, D'Evelyn said. Deputies have looked into each of the leads and tried to verify the information, but so far, officials have no evidence leading them to believe Lang left the hiking area, D'Evelyn said.

Sheriffs' agencies are still encouraging calls regarding any information on Lang and his whereabouts.